


Nicky Hayden’s Heart

by Always_Dreaming



Category: Motorcycling RPF
Genre: Bittersweet, Death, Gen, Hospitals, Love, Sad with a Happy Ending, life - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 08:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13948140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Always_Dreaming/pseuds/Always_Dreaming
Summary: I always wonder what happened to Nicky’s heart, because of course being the good guy he was, he said it should be used to help another after his death. I like to think it beats on, somewhere, spreading goodness and love everywhere. But what sort of person would his heart go to?





	Nicky Hayden’s Heart

Once upon a time, there was a business man called Jim Greenwood. He owned a legal firm and ran it efficiently, professionally and impersonally. He’d worked hard to build his business, starting directly as a paralegal after finishing his four-year law course, then working all hours of the day and night to practice his legal skills, study cases and techniques to ensure he was an expert in the field of litigation. He became feared by his rivals, colleagues and even clients, known for finding the weak spot in any agreement, deal or contract.

Along the way, he met Mary Jane, another trainee lawyer like him, except she wanted to be a family and human rights lawyer. They married, as it seemed the right thing to do after a three-year courtship and had two children.

After the children arrived, Mary Jane lost interest in the law and trained as a teacher instead. Jim didn’t like this, he argued with her many times, saying that a teacher’s wage just wasn’t enough to finance the luxury lifestyle he wanted.

But Mary Jane fought him, got her wish and become an elementary school teacher. The salary was pathetic compared to Jim’s and he couldn’t see why she bothered.

Their elder child, Bobby, was no good at academic work, to his father’s disgust. The boy preferred any type of sport, especially cycling, and he rode endless laps in practise and competitions. Jim really couldn’t be bothered to sit through the mind-numbing hours of cycling, sitting outside in all weathers, having to cheer every little improvement. So he stayed at work and Mary Jane ferried Bobby back and forth to the competitions and watched his triumphs and failures.

At first, Bobby asked for his dad, and wondered why he wasn’t watching him cycling. But after a while, he gave up and gave in to the fact that his father was a grey, distant figure, either at work or behind his newspaper at the breakfast or dinner table.

The younger child, Annie, was an artist. She spent all her days drawing—cats, ballerinas, anime, flowers, trees. She proudly presented her first picture to her father when she was four years old, but he’d just looked at it briefly and put it on his desk. The next day it had disappeared. Little Annie kept trying, but every picture she gave him, was shrugged at and never displayed, so eventually she gave up.

Bobby was now fourteen and Annie, nine. Mary Jane was the deputy head of her elementary school, and overworked, although she loved her job. She organised all the childcare while Jim worked a sixty-hour week, and some of the weekends too. He didn’t need to because they had a luxurious house, four holidays a year and two top-of-the-range cars. But Jim loved his job, and he worked hard at it, while his family got by without him, and did pretty well. When he was around, everyone felt on edge and as if they would be corrected if they said the slightest wrong thing. So they kept quiet until he went back to work.

As well as working hard, Jim also liked to play hard. He went to numerous legal dinners, presentations, balls, networking events—you name it, Jim attended. He loved to consume the finest wines, richest food, the highest quality cigars and of course, a glass of port, brandy or whisky after every dinner. Every occasion he’d quickly lose his inhibitions and dance the night away while drinking, smoking and laughing with his friends. Well, his ‘friends’. They were colleagues really—Jim was a fine lawyer but respected more than loved. He didn’t have a close friend to talk and laugh with.

Mary Jane didn’t attend these events, because of the children of course, but also because of her school work. She sat up late planning her students’ schemes of work, marking any writing practice they did, and generally worrying about when her husband would return home.

The 22nd May 2017 was a date that had been in Jim’s thoughts for a very long time. It was the date he was going to be awarded Kentucky Business Person of the Year. It was really covering the year 2016 of course, but it took a lot of time for people to get the evidence together and vote for the candidates, and there were three rounds of voting. It was a hard-fought battle, but Jim gloated when he triumphed. It was well deserved, in his opinion. He compared it to Bobby’s latest cycling trophy and Annie’s latest drawing award, and his was by far the best. Of course, he didn’t compare them out loud, he’d kept it inside his own mind—he wasn’t THAT insensitive to compete with children.

Little did he know that his children weren’t stupid—they were well aware that their triumphs were nothing compared to their father’s long awaited one.

On the night of the celebration dinner for the award, Jim could hardly contain his excitement as he sat at the top table waiting for his name to be read out. Walking to the stage was a blur. He was hardly able to remember the speech he’d prepared long ago and slurred his words with excitement.

After the presentation, his heart began hammering and he’d felt far too hot.

“You alright, fella?” His contemporary, Frank Weitz, asked him. “You look mighty pale.”

Jim wanted to say, “and you look mighty green with jealousy, you loser,” but was too cunning. He might need Frank’s help in future—it was never right to upset a potential ally. “Think I’ll just step outside for a breath of fresh air.” Jim staggered over to the door, wondering why his legs weren’t moving so well.

Outside, he stood by the fountain. The sky was black, the stars twinkled, and the water tinkled as it played over the stones. Jim looked up at them all, then felt a pain in his arm, then his chest. He couldn’t catch his breath and clutched at his heart. His nails clawed at the stone rim of the fountain and gravel grazed his face.

***

When Jim awoke, he felt like he’d been asleep for a year, he was so rested. What a beautiful day it was—the sun shone in through the window and the birds tweeted and sung outside.

He was lying in a white covered bed, in a white, antiseptic smelling room. This wasn’t his home. “Where am I?” He struggled to remember. 

Just then a nurse bustled in. “M—Mr Greenwood?” she faltered. “Your family’s here to see you.” She was well aware of the lawyer’s fearsome reputation and didn’t want to say anything to anger him. 

He looked over to the door. Mary Jane, Bobby and Annie stood there, pale and scared looking, far away from the bed.

“Come in!” Jim said, as loudly as he could. Which wasn’t very loud as he’d had a major operation.

The trio hesitated, staring at him.

“Come on. I don’t bite.”

They shuffled in.

“How’s my beautiful wife? My strong boy? My little girl?” He had to stop talking then as he was still so weak.

“We’re all fine,” faltered Mary Jane, the children clinging to her.

“Tell me all about your day,” said Jim, smiling.

Really, the family hadn’t seen him like this before. He usually wore a distant or disapproving frown or was simply not there, away at work. They had never seen him pale and weak, lying down injured before.

Annie gave in first. “Daddy!” she cried, running to his side.

“Careful, Annie!” warned her mother. “Don’t stress him.”

“It’s alright,” whispered Jim. He hugged the little girl as tightly as he could with one arm. The other was attached to the intravenous drip. “What have you drawn lately?”

She produced a picture of a man from her pocket. A man holding a big trophy. “This is you, Daddy. With your award.”

“It’s—it’s wonderful,” stuttered Jim, a tear in his eye. “When did you get so good at drawing? We’ll have to send you to art school.”

Mary Jane and Bobby still stood at the door, white faced.

“What’s wrong with Dad?” whispered the boy.

“He’s just had a major operation, he’ll be back to normal soon.”

“I hope not.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, Mom.”

“Come over,” said Jim, still holding his little girl’s hand. The duo shuffled over. “What have you been doing, Bobby?”

“I—well—sir—I—”

“Don’t call me sir, please.”

“I’ve—I won the cycling under-fifteen race at Louisville last week. I—I won a trophy, like yours—I mean, not like yours—it’s not as good—”

“I’m sure it’s better than mine.” Jim smiled weakly. “All I did was sit on my ass, I didn’t push my body to its limit like you.”

He looked at Mary Jane, whose face was still white and drawn, with tears in her eyes. “What about my beautiful wife, who’s so strong and brave?”

“Oh Jim!” She sat down heavily on his bed. “I didn’t do anything strong and brave.”

“She did!” interrupted Bobby. “She won Teacher of the State last week! While you were—were asleep.”

Jim gasped. “You never told me you were up for that award!”

“Well, you know…you were busy, you were tired and—”

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it as tightly as he could.

The nurse came in again. “I'm sorry but Mr Greenwood needs to rest now.” Jim could hardly keep his eyes open.

***

When he woke up again, a grey-haired doctor was standing at the foot of his bed.

“Now Mr Greenwood. You’ve had a very big operation and been very fortunate to be given a new heart. Please take care of this one as you won’t be getting another.”

“I will, Doctor.”

The mild man lying in bed was not the patient Dr Schweitzer had been expecting. He’d heard of the fearsome lawyer, Jim Greenwood, who everyone respected but didn’t necessarily like.

He began again, expecting opposition. “You didn’t treat your old heart well at all. Too much alcohol, rich food, not enough exercise or rest. Be warned, all that must stop! Right now. You must go on a healthy diet, exercise and rest as directed for your age. I am very serious, Mr Greenwood. You will not get another chance. I will personally plan a diet sheet for you and be sure to follow it.”

Jim nodded meekly.

Dr Schweitzer quite enjoyed putting the fear of God into his patients. He swept out, rustling his white coat like a super hero. Which indeed, he was.

***

The next visitor to Jim’s room was Brian, the junior partner of his law firm.

“I’ve brought the business pages for you to read,” he quavered, holding them out. He too, looked pale and harassed, like the Greenwood family.

“I don’t want the business pages,” said Jim. 

Brian stared at him in shock. “Oh I’m sorry, did you want Lawyers Weekly? I should have bought the latest one, I’m so sorry, I—”

“No, Brian, I want to ask how you’re doing.”

The younger lawyer was speechless. He’d always felt so inferior compared to the great Jim Greenwood, who was so surgical in his cases—cutting through arguments like a scalpel, making Brian feel like a bleeding heart because he worried about people’s feelings instead.

“Me? I’m f—fine. H—how are you?”

“I couldn’t be better.” Jim thought how kind his colleague’s face was, although there were far too many lines for such a young man. “I hope you’re okay at work. Don’t do too much, now.”

“I—no—I won’t, er—” Brian was staring open mouthed as the nurse ushered him out, saying Jim needed to rest.

***

Jim stayed in hospital for a week, then returned home, forbidden to go back to work for at least six months. He wandered round his luxurious home, admiring it. There were a few family photos on the lounge wall and he gazed at them—there was his beautiful and angelic wife who worked her ass off to look after the home, their children and her students; his decent son, who was a very talented sportsman, especially in cycling, and his creative daughter, with the faraway, dreamy look in her eyes. 

Bobby showed him the shelves in his bedroom, full of cycling trophies, which Jim hadn’t seen before. Annie showed him her bedroom, with its walls covered in the most artistic and well-drawn pictures. Jim knew he was such a lucky man, and his heart filled with joy and wonder at how fortunate he’d been in life to gain all this.

When his family came home from work and school one day, he called them to the lounge for a family meeting. They shuffled in, looking surprised and worried.

“I’ve decided to hand over my business to Brian,” said Jim the moment they all sat down. “I want to spend more time with my family. Family is the important thing in life.”

Three open mouthed faces watched him.

“B—but what about your work?” quavered Mary Jane. “You love your work. you can’t get enough of it.”

“It’s work, you know. I’ve done enough of that. Life is too short to spend in an office or schmoozing clients. The doc told me to do exercise, so I thought I could try cycling.”

Bobby gasped. “But Dad, you always told me cycling was a waste of time. Any sport is a waste of time.”

“Yes, but Bob, if I cycle, I can spend more time with you. See? Your old Dad hasn’t gone insane.” Jim smiled.

The boy gasped in delight and ran to hug his father. Annie and Mary Jane watched, nervously.

“And if I retire, I can take the kids to school and back, when I’m better. We have more then enough money and savings to live comfortably for the rest of our lives, without me working all hours. So you can take a break, my darling.” He looked directly at his wife, whose face crumpled into tears of joy. 

Jim grinned with delight at his idea. “Annie can draw all day long if she likes. I’ll put her pictures up all over my office. I won’t have an office. It’ll be an art gallery.”

***

So Jim Greenwood retired from his law business and Brian took over. However, Jim welcomed anything Brian wanted to say—whether it was advice he needed, a listening ear for his problems or even to share a funny thing that happened. After a few months, Jim and Brian decided that they should change their focus to human rights and began handling the sorts of cases Jim used to despise—those helping the weak, the ill, and people discriminated against or mistreated in some way. Brian shone at this work, and Jim actually became a silent partner in the firm again, to provide expert advice to Brian and his colleagues.

But the main focus of Jim’s life became his family. Bobby taught him to cycle and they went on adventures, cycling around together like father and son should.

Mary Jane cut down on her teaching hours and spent more time with her new, relaxed husband, who treated her to romantic dinners and romantic weekends—she’d forgotten how those felt! When they’d been youngsters dating, he’d turned on the charm and showered her with gifts and holidays, but that attention soon wore off the minute his business began to flourish. Now romance was back again, and she glowed with happiness.

As for Annie, her pictures adorned the walls of her father’s ex office and she never feared showing them to him again. She even taught him to sketch, although his efforts were so bad they spent many times laughing at how unrealistic they were—he said she must have inherited her talent from her mother.

As time passed, Jim thought of another brilliant idea. He set up two schemes—one in the name of his son, the Robert Greenwood Scholarship for young people who couldn’t afford to follow a sporting career. And one in the name of his daughter, the Anne Greenwood Scholarship for those who couldn’t afford to go to art college.

But the best thing he did was reconnect with his family again, and they became a happy, laughing, fighting, hugging unit again.

So Jim, Mary Jane, Bobby and Annie Greenwood—and Nicky Hayden’s heart—lived:

Happily 

Ever 

After.

**Author's Note:**

> This is meant to be set in America, so if any Americans can see anything that sounds too English, can you let me know? Thanks.


End file.
